Girl Guides to gather, rain or not

After more than a year of fundraising, Rotorua's Rachel Dunkley and Stephanie Jonker won't be letting the rain hamper their enjoyment of Tui 12 - New Zealand's Girl Guide jamboree.

They are among more than 2000 Girl Guides and Rangers who will descend on Rotorua's Tui Ridge tomorrow.

There will also be about 500 leaders and parents attending.

The girls have been told gumboots are compulsory with the Metservice forecasting showers on at least Sunday and Wednesday.

Girls, aged from 10 to 18, from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Malaysia and the Philippines, will be attending the week-long jamboree, which is held every four years.

The last time the jamboree was held in Rotorua was in 2004.

Morgan-Jo, Rachel and Stephanie are among about 40 local Girl Guides and Rangers who will be at this year's event.

Rachel and Stephanie, both 14, will be among 400 Rangers attending.

For Rachel, this is her second jamboree.

She went to the jamboree in 2008 in Christchurch as a 10-year-old Girl Guide.

The Rangers, who are aged from 13 to 18, will spend half their week camped off-site.

They can choose from activities which include black water rafting at Waitomo Caves, kayaking on Lake Taupo, tramping at Lake Tarawera, completing the Tongariro Crossing, horse trekking and water adventures at Lake Rotoma.

Rachel and Stephanie are looking forward to going black water rafting at Waitomo Caves.

"We have both never done it before and we both think it will be exciting," Rachel said.

Stephanie was part of the girl consultation group - a national group for Girl Guides - which gave advice to the organisers about what they wanted to do and see at the jamboree.

A huge range of fun outdoor activities are planned for the girls at Tui Ridge including rock climbing, bike and trail rides, mud slides and water activities.

Stephanie said she also wanted to have a go at abseiling at Tui Ridge and both her and Rachel were looking forward to meeting new people.

The girls said they hoped for sunshine during the jamboree but wouldn't be too worried if it rained.

"What can you do?

"You just put your raincoat on and make the best of it," Rachel said.

The girls have spent more than a year fundraising for the event which costs $670 per person.

For 11-year-old Morgan-Jo Larken, who is a Girl Guide, this is her first jamboree and she is looking forward to meeting other people, particularly those from other countries.

"I just like looking at other badges and seeing what they look like," Morgan-Jo said.

GirlGuiding New Zealand marketing manager Jane Smithson said they were not concerned about the rain and activities would only be cancelled if there was a "major weather event".

She said there was a large area undercover for the girls to do activities.

Girls will be arriving all day tomorrow with the opening ceremony at 8pm.

GirlGuiding New Zealand patron and Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae's wife Lady Janine Mateparae will be at Tui Ridge on Sunday morning to watch some of the activities.